Deep indeed will be the thought necessary to understand the surpassing
excellence of this grace. It is comprehended in the idea of the Father
incorrupt; and here at the outset is a paradox, viz. that virginity is
found in Him, Who has a Son and yet without passion has begotten Him.
It is included too in the nature of this Only-begotten God, Who struck
the first note of all this moral innocence; it shines forth equally in
His pure and passionless generation. Again a paradox; that the Son
should be known to us by virginity. It is seen, too, in the inherent
and incorruptible purity of the Holy Spirit; for when you have named
the pure and incorruptible you have named virginity. It accompanies the
whole supramundane existence; because of its passionlessness it is
always present with the powers above; never separated from aught that
is Divine, it never touches the opposite of this. All whose instinct
and will have found their level in virtue are beautified with this
perfect purity of the uncorrupted state; all who are ranked in the
opposite class of character are what they are, and are called so, by
reason of their fall from purity. What force of expression, then, will
be adequate to such a grace? How can there be no cause to fear lest the
greatness of its intrinsic value should be impaired by the efforts of
any one’s eloquence? The estimate of it which he will create will
be less than that which his hearers had before. It will be well, then,
to omit all laudation in this case; we cannot lift words to the height
of our theme. On the contrary, it is possible to be ever mindful of
this gift of God; and our lips may always speak of this blessing; that,
though it is the property of spiritual existence and of such singular
excellence, yet by the love of God it has been bestowed on those who
have received their life from the will of the flesh and from blood;
that, when human nature has been based by passionate inclinations, it
stretches out its offer of purity like a hand to raise it up again and
make it look above. This, I think, was the reason why our Master, Jesus
Christ Himself, the Fountain of all innocence, did not come into the
world by wedlock. It was, to divulge by the manner of His Incarnation
this great secret; that purity is the only complete indication13481348δείξασθαι. Livineius conjectures δέξασθαι; so also Cod. Reg. Cf. Sedulius: “Domus pudici
pectoris Templum repente fit
Dei.” of the presence of God and of His coming,
and that no one can in reality secure this for himself, unless he has
altogether estranged himself from the passions of the flesh. What
happened in the stainless Mary when the fulness of the Godhead which
was in Christ shone out through her, that happens in every soul that
leads by rule the virgin life. No longer indeed does the Master come
with bodily presence; “we know Christ no longer
accord345ing
to the flesh134913492 Cor. v. 16.”; but, spiritually, He dwells in
us and brings His Father with Him, as the Gospel somewhere13501350 S. John xiv. 23 tells. Seeing, then, that virginity means so
much as this, that while it remains in Heaven with the Father of
spirits, and moves in the dance of the celestial powers, it
nevertheless stretches out hands for man’s salvation; that while
it is the channel which draws down the Deity to share man’s
estate, it keeps wings for man’s desires to rise to heavenly
things, and is a bond of union between the Divine and human, by its
mediation bringing into harmony these existences so widely
divided—what words could be discovered powerful enough to reach
this wondrous height? But still, it is monstrous to seem like creatures
without expression and without feeling; and we must choose (if we are
silent) one of two things; either to appear never to have felt the
special beauty of virginity, or to exhibit ourselves as obstinately
blind to all beauty: we have consented therefore to speak briefly about
this virtue, according to the wish of him who has assigned us this
task, and whom in all things we must obey. But let no one expect from
us any display of style; even if we wished it, perhaps we could not
produce it, for we are quite unversed in that kind of writing. Even if
we possessed such power, we would not prefer the favour of the few to
the edification of the many. A writer of sense should have, I take it,
for his chiefest object not to be admired above all other writers, but
to profit both himself and them, the many.